Andrew Yang, who ran for president and mayor of New York City as a Democrat but lost, will launch a third party next month, according to a source close to Yang. The announcement will coincide with the release of his new book.
The move by Yang, who is best known for advocating for a $1,000 monthly universal basic income for every adult in the United States, was first reported by Politico on Thursday.
On October 5, Yang’s new book “Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy” will be released.
According to an online description, the book is described as “a powerful and urgent warning that we must step back from the brink and plot a new way forward for our democracy” and will identify “‘priests of the decline’ of America, including politicians whose incentives have become divorced from the people they ostensibly serve.”
On the book’s website, there are blurbs from Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks (“a vitally important book”), Kara Swisher of the New York Times (“Yang does not just give us a laundry list of intractable problems, but shows how we can find solutions if we think in new ways and summon the courage to do so”), and CNN contributor Van Jones (“Yang once again proves he is a necessary and powerful voice”).
Yang was one of the first Democrats to file papers to run for president in 2020, doing so in 2017. His universal basic income pitch, as well as his warnings about the US economy’s automation and his boisterous social media supporters known as the “Yang Gang,” drew a lot of attention to his campaign.
Yang, on the other hand, was unable to translate his enthusiasm into votes, and he dropped out of the race after finishing sixth in the Iowa caucuses and eighth in the New Hampshire primary.
Yang then shifted his focus to the Democratic mayoral primary this year. His campaign faded in the final weeks before the June 22 election, after holding a large lead in early polls. Yang conceded defeat after preliminary results showed him receiving the fourth-most first-choice votes on primary night, telling supporters that “there was so much about New York City I didn’t know.”
It was unclear what Yang’s new political party would be called, or what offices it would seek in future elections.
The Post’s requests for comment on Yang went unanswered on Thursday. However, in apparent response to the Politico report, the tech entrepreneur tweeted “Excited.”
